Nearly 1 in 5 Union County workers is unemployed

^snip^
"The second Great Depression is already here," said Walter Wilkerson, a retired Union County resident who formerly worked at the Cone Mills LLC
textile plant in Carlisle. "It certainly feels like it. With the state government cutting its funding and everything else, I'm worried that I will
go to pick up my Social Security check and it won't be
there."

Job center struggles with massive need In Portland, Ore.,
one center works to meet unprecedented demand

The doors aren’t even open at WorkSource Portland Metro East, and yet a line is already starting to form outside the squat tan office building.
It’s just before 8 a.m., and people are anxious to start looking for work. By 9 a.m., the publicly funded job and retraining center will be
overflowing with clients. People who once held jobs as chefs, truck drivers, industrial buyers, retirement home managers and car dealers will pass
through the doors. Some will have master’s degrees and others won’t have graduated from high school; none will have had any luck — yet —
finding a job in this hard economy.

Pentagon to end F-22 jets, presidential chopper

By The Associated Press Defense Secretary Robert Gates
WASHINGTON -

Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the Pentagon will end the F-22 fighter jet, which is assembled in Marietta, and presidential helicopter programs
run by Lockheed Martin Corp. As a result, roughly 2,000 workers at the Lockheed Martin plant in Marietta could lose their jobs. Military analysts
widely expected the radar-evading supersonic jet considered an outdated weapon system designed for the Cold War would not go beyond the 187 already
planned. The planes cost $140 million each. But Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed, the nation's largest defense contractor, has said almost 95,000 jobs
could be at stake if the Pentagon didn't buy more of the planes. The new fleet of presidential helicopters with a price tag of $11.2 billion that was
nearly double the original budget also were considered at risk to be cut in the 2010 budget.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) www.accessnorthga.com...

Government debt was double that of GDP in 1945, and that is what pulled us out of the great depression. Super high taxes on incomes over a certain
level were also established. If it worked then, it should work now.

Stocks were led lower by financials in the early going. Financials (-2.9%) were put under pressure when a reputable analyst from Calyon Securities
gave a pessimistic analysis of the banking industry by stating that banks' loan losses relative to their total loans should increase to levels that
exceed those of the Great Depression.

The best solution at this time would be major government investment in a new transportation infrastructure which allows people to purchase personal
vehicles that will operate on a electrical rail system. Build these systems on top of our current highway system. Develop a redundant computer
controlled system with extra safety features and control capabilities in the cars themselves. In high traffic areas, cars could be coupled together,
reducing the amount of space needed for large numbers of vehicles in high traffic areas. The individual factor would be eliminated in accelerating,
braking, and steering, no need for traffic cops, greatly reduced car insurance, and people could spend commuting time doing other things. In
addition, vehicles could travel between cities at high speeds, maybe over 200 MPH, travel coast to coast in the U.S. in 12 hours.

Hey, if we are going to have a WW II type government spending program to end this depression, this would be a better way to go.

Citizens Financial parent RBS to cut 9,000 jobs

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group, parent of Citizens Financial Group, the second-largest banking operation in Massachusetts, said Tuesday it plans
to cut up to 9,000 jobs over the next two years. The United Kingdom-based bank, in which the British government acquired a majority stake last fall,
said it will achieve the job cuts through layoffs, natural turnover and leaving vacant positions unfilled. A Citizens spokeswoman declined comment
Tuesday about the cuts. Citizens is the second-largest bank in Massachusetts, when ranked by deposits. RBS said the cuts will include 4,500 in the
United Kingdom. The plan, which involves a number of other cost-saving initiatives, will help RBS reduce annual costs by roughly $3.7 billion within
the next three years.

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